Malachite specimen, showing the originalbotryoidal form and a polished face of the opposite half of the specimen. Mines in the vicinity ofKolwezi supply much of the polishing-grade malachite in the world.Another malachite specimen from Katanga, on display at theRoyal Ontario Museum.
Katanga's area encompassed 497,000 square kilometres (192,000 sq mi). Farming and ranching are carried out on theKatanga Plateau. The eastern part of the province is a rich mining region which suppliescobalt,copper,tin,radium,uranium, anddiamonds. The region's former capital,Lubumbashi, is the second-largest city in the Congo.[2][3]
Copper mining in Katanga dates back over 1,000 years, and mines in the region were producing standard-sizedingots of copper for international transport by the end of the 10th century CE.[4]
In 1915, a deposit ofpitchblende and other uranium minerals of a higher grade than had ever been found before anywhere in the world and higher than any found since were discovered atShinkolobwe. The discovery was kept secret by UMHK. AfterWorld War I ended a factory was built atOlen; the secrecy was lifted at the end of 1922 with the announcement of the production of the first gram of radium from the pitchblende.[6] By the start ofWorld War II, the mining companies "constituted a state within theBelgian Congo". TheShinkolobwe mine nearJadotville (nowLikasi) was at the centre of theManhattan Project.[7]
In 1960, after the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then called Republic of the Congo) gained independence from Belgium, the UMHK,Moise Tshombe andGodefroid Munongo supported thesecession of Katanga province from the Congo. This was supported by Belgium but opposed by the Congolese Prime MinisterPatrice Lumumba. This led to the assassination of Lumumba and theKatanga Crisis (or "Congo Crisis"), which lasted from 1960 to 1965. The breakawayState of Katanga existed from 1960 to 1963, then was reintegrated.[8]
In 2005, the new constitution specified that Katanga was to be split up into separately administered provinces.[9]
Copper mining is an important part of the economy of Katanga province.[12] Cobalt mining by individual contractors is also prevalent. A number of reasons have been advanced for the failure of the vast mineral wealth of the province to increase the overallstandard of living. The local provincial budget was US$440 million in 2011.[13][14]
Lubumbashi, the mining capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is a hub for many of the country's biggest mining companies. The Democratic Republic of Congo produces "more than 3 percent of the world’s copper and half itscobalt, most of which comes from Katanga".[15]
Gécamines, (La Générale des Carrières et des Mines, the former UMHK), the state-owned copper-cobalt mining company, had monopoly concessions in the province.
Katanga Mining LtdTSX:KAT operates a major mining complex in Katanga province, producing refined copper and cobalt with the "potential of becoming Africa’s largest copper producer and the world’s largest cobalt producer".[16] Katanga Mining Ltd is majority-owned by Swisscommodity traderGlencore DCC.[17] Ajoint venture of Katanga Mining (75%) and Gécamines (25%) began miningTilwezembe, an open-pit copper and cobalt mine, in 2007.[18]
The province bordered Angola and formed the entire Congolese border with Zambia. It also bordered Tanzania – although onLake Tanganyika rather than on land. Katanga has a wet and dry season. Rainfall is about 1,200 mm (49 in).[19]
The province was divided in 2015 into five successor provinces, based on the districts of Katanga at that time:
TheUniversity of Lubumbashi, located in the northern part of Lubumbashi city, is the largest university in the province and one of the largest in the country.
TESOL, the English Language School of Lubumbashi, is a secondary school that serves the expatriate community. It was founded in 1987 on the grounds of the French School, Lycée Français Blaise Pascal, which suspended operations in 1991 with a new French School starting in 2009.[20]
Katanga province has the highest rate ofinfant mortality in the world, with 184 of 1000 babies born expected to die before the age of five.[21]
Provincial assembly building of Katanga inLubumbashi
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